“Isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do “practice”?”
― George Carlin
Want A Taste Of Your Own Medicine?
Western medicine is the expert at not only turning into a pathology everything that deviates from a so-called functional range of “normality”, but also at using a very narrow framework of reference when regarding ways of treating these pathologies. A common example that never seems to go out of style is the all too often heard “your depression is caused by a chemical imbalance.”
Chemical imbalance aside, would you still hold the same perspective upon examining a patient that religiously swallows her daily prescribed cocktail of meds, exercises everyday and does every possible thing to reach this state of “chemical balance”, yet feels worse off than at the start of such a treatment? Is the chemical imbalance still left to take the blame?
And while at it, what about a patient that suffers from depression and has suicidal tendencies, to whom a psychiatrist administers ISRS. One wouldn’t think that handing someone a medication supposed to elevate someone’s serotonin levels could turn into a tool of self-destruction, would him? Given that one of the effects of such a med is to help diminish the feelings of hopelessness of someone dealing with depression, couldn’t that make a patient suffering from depression more disposed to put into action their suicidal ideations? Doesn’t having more energy could translate itself into having an easier capacity at carrying out such a plan?
The point is, you can’t solve a problem while not only making an incorrect assessment of its potential causes, but also by using treatment procedures that solely address a specific set of implications. Human beings are such complex creatures, and the “condition” of someone shouldn’t be reduced to a set of words that paint an incomplete picture of the reality of things. When a flower is withering, do you push on it to keep it alive? Chances are, if you do that you’ll simply just kill her alive. Do you put the blame on the lack or the overdose of water that perhaps contributed to its fainting? And what about a lack of light? Would it be fair to discard the very soil on which the flower grew?
